LONG BEACH - Community activist Maria Giesey once described Jim Lewis as "a flash of lightning."

The energetic president and CEO of the Long Beach Rescue Mission is leaving quite a legacy for his successor.

In the wake of the announcement of Lewis' departure, he is being remembered by the homeless and low-income communities, along with neighborhood groups, as a man of passion and compassion.

Colleagues say he is a man full of opinions, who still was able to listen. And he is a guy who made things happen.

Susan Price, manager of the Bureau of Community Health, oversees homeless services and the multi-service center, among her duties. She remembers almost from the outset that Lewis worked to "build bridges with the continuum of care" and other groups.

"The gap had been noticeable between the Rescue Mission and service providers," Price said.

Robert Probst, the associate director of the Rescue Mission and interim head during the search for a new president and CEO, said Lewis came at the perfect time.

"It was a time when (the Mission) could have gone either way," said Probst, who is a candidate to succeed Lewis.

Almost from the moment Lewis took the helm in Long Beach, he had a big impact.

Lewis stepped in and volunteered to have the Rescue Mission run the winter homeless shelter, which had formerly been run by New Image Shelter.

Picking suitable locations for the shelters in the face of growing complaints from residents and businesses about nuisance issues and petty crimes had become problematic.

From the outset, Lewis said he would only undertake the shelter operation if it were a collaborative effort between the city and police.

Although there were struggles in the early years to find sites and open on time, Lewis drew praise for taking on a job few if any wanted.

Lewis also stopped Rescue Mission clients from loitering around the building and at nearby 14th Street Park, cementing his relationship with politicians and community activists.

The park had developed a reputation for violence, drug peddling and prostitution. Then Vice Mayor Bonnie Lowenthal and community activists from the Washington School Neighborhood Group and Better Balance for Long Beach had been spearheading the effort to improve the park and make it safe.

Lowenthal laughs when she hears that Lewis recounted how she "read him the riot act" when they first met.

Now, however, she said, "Jim became a partner and tremendously successful on so many levels in making Washington Park safer."

Joe Levy, the retired commander of the West Division, also had dealings with Lewis on safety and homeless issues, and said Lewis made a difference in the neighborhood.

Lewis forged relationships with local community groups and changed the culture around the Rescue Mission, Levy said.

"We saw an improvement on the number of individuals loitering around the Rescue Mission and 14th Street Park," Levy said. "On one occasion I saw Jim walking 14th Street and asking folks to move on, that they had to adhere to (the Mission's) rules and regulations if they wanted to continue to receive services."

The improvements within the Rescue Mission have also been dramatic.

Not long after taking the job in Long Beach Lewis said, "(Thirty-five years ago), we were known as soup kitchens. The spectrum of services are different from 35 years ago and they'll be different 30 years from now. We need to change to best meet the needs of the homeless."

Under Lewis there was a change in curriculum and expansion of the New Life Program, a one-year intensive Christian-based residential program that now has 50 members, men and women, and graduated 30 in 2012.

The Mission still offers up to 90 days of emergency shelter with case management for about 60, and bridge and transitional living programs.

The Mission has a total of 136 shelter beds, not including the winter emergency shelter, and Probst said they are usually full.

And while Lewis said the Mission is much more than a soup kitchen, it still doles out 600 meals a day.

Lewis said the Mission increased its donor base 50 percent and donations doubled.

In 2003, the Mission had a budget of about $1 million. In its 2011 tax forms, the Mission listed receipts of more than $3.7 million.

The staff has grown from 12 to 26 people, and engages more than 1,700 volunteers annually.

Lewis says he intends to take a short sabbatical before considering future endeavors. He intends to remain in Long Beach and his wife of 35 years, Leslie, and will continue to teach in the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

Whatever the future holds, Price is sure of one thing.

"(Lewis) will always have compassion and desire to help those who are the most vulnerable," she said.